125 Members Say Airbus "Should Not Benefit From Illegal Subsidies"

A letter written by Congressmen Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) (below) and  Norm Dicks (D-WA), and signed by 123 other members of Congress, tells President Barack Obama Congress will "protect American jobs" when the WTO’s final ruling confirms that Airbus products were illegally subsidized. Tiahrt and Dicks, along with 123 of their colleagues, wrote that U.S. policies should not reward foreign governments or companies that benefited from illegal subsidies. The letter was sent Friday.

Congressman Tiahrt said, "Current U.S. policies reward foreign governments and companies involved in illegal subsidy dealings while putting skilled American workers at a huge competitive disadvantage. This is unacceptable. When the WTO confirms what we have known for years, Congress must swiftly respond to ensure companies entangled in illegal practices, such as Airbus, are not allowed to compete against American jobs."

Congressman Dicks (below)  said, "Since the WTO’s interim panel has agreed with our U.S. Trade Representative that the illegal Airbus subsidies have caused material harm and taken jobs from American workers, it is difficult to explain how the Pentagon can ignore the obvious implications for the tanker contract. We’ve got to have a level playing field."

"Your U.S. Trade Representative – Ambassador Ron Kirk – recently stated that these illegal subsidies "caused adverse effects to the interests of the United States," the letter states. "As a result, our nation’s industries and workers have suffered. It is imperative that Federal government policies work to ensure a level playing field, allowing U.S. businesses to be competitive in the global economy. These policies should enable further development of the skills and capacity of the American workforce and create jobs here at home. Our policies should not reward foreign governments or companies that benefited from illegal subsidies."

Boeing, not surprisingly, had a positive reaction to the letter. "Boeing is encouraged to see such strong bipartisan congressional support for U.S. action to end the illegal subsidies that European governments have for decades provided to Airbus at the expense of American industry and its workers," the company said in a news release. "Despite an imminent final WTO ruling on illegal subsidies, Airbus appears poised to extend and continue the practice of using illegal subsidies for its new aircraft, the A350. This new plane directly targets America's aerospace industry and the tens of thousands of workers who design and build aircraft in the United States."

FMI: www.tiahrt.house.gov, www.boeing.com